Tako | |
|---|---|
 The 1977–1981 Tako lineup, from left to right: Dušan Ćućuz, Slobodan Felekatović, Đorđe Ilijin, and Miroslav Dukić. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Belgrade,SR Serbia,SFR Yugoslavia |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1975–1981 |
| Labels | ZKP RTLJ,PGP-RTB, Kalemegdan Disk, Rocksymphony |
| Past members | Dušan Ćućuz Đorđe Ilijin Sava Bojić Milan Lolić Sava Jojić Miroslav Dukić Slobodan Felekatović |
Tako (Serbian Cyrillic:Тако, trans.That Way) was aYugoslavprogressive rock band formed inBelgrade in 1975. They were one of the most prominent acts of the Yugoslav progressive rock scene.
The band was formed by bass guitarist Dušan Ćućuz, keyboardist Đorđe Ilijin, guitarist and vocalist Sava Bojić and drummer Milan Lolić, Bojić being replaced in 1976 by Sava Jojić. In 1977, Jojić and Lolić were replaced by Miroslav Dukić and Slobodan Felekatović respectively. After the lineup change, the band gained large media attention and released their debut self-titled album in 1978. In 1980 the band released their second album, disbanding soon after.
Tako was formed in 1975 by Dušan "Dule" Ćućuz (bass guitar), Đorđe Ilijin (keyboards), Sava Bojić (guitar, vocals) and Milan "Mića Žorž" Lolić (drums).[1] Ćućuz was previously a member of the bands Vihori (The Winds),Džentlmeni andPlamenih 6, he was one of the originalOpus members and in the first half of the 1970s he worked assound engineer forYU Grupa.[1] Sava Bojić was one of the originalPop Mašina members, and Đorđe Ilijin previously performed with the band Sećanja (The Memories), worked as amusic teacher and often appeared as guest musician on albums by other groups, playing keyboards, flute and harmonica.[1] The band members chose the simple name Tako in accordance with their desire to create music without making compromises.[1]
The band had their first live performance in the autumn of 1975, on a charity concert held in Belgrade'sPionir Hall, with funds raised dedicated to people suffering frommuscular dystrophy.[1] Initially, beside their own songs, the band performedJimi Hendrix Experience andSantana covers.[2] During 1975, they made their first demos, recording the songs "Čujem svoje misli" ("I Hear My Thoughts"), "Daždevnjak" ("Salamander"), "Lena" and "Čudan grad" ("Strange Town") inRadio Belgrade studios.[1] After the recording sessions, Bojić had to leave the band due to his mandatory stint in theYugoslav army, and was replaced by guitarist Sava Jojić.[1] The group spent the summer of 1976 performing in International Student Center inDubrovnik.[1] Despite frequent live performances, the band had difficulties in reaching through to larger audience due to their non-commercial sound.[1]
In 1977, Lolić was excluded from the band because of frequentalcohol abuse, and was replaced by Slobodan Felekatović, and Jojić was replaced by guitarist and vocalist Miroslav Dukić, a former member of the band Koren (Root).[1] This lineup of the band managed to reach broad audience.[1] During 1977, Tako played as an opening band onBijelo Dugme tour, which brought them nationwide media attention,[1] performing also on Bijelo Dugme's famousHajdučka česma concert.[1] In November 1977, Tako and progressive/acoustic rock bandS Vremena Na Vreme organized aquadraphonic sound concert inBelgrade Youth Center.[1] Tako also had successful appearances at the 1977 and 1978 editions of theBOOM Festival inNovi Sad.[1]
Despite the interest for the band's work shown by the audience and the Yugoslav music press, Tako were refused as non-commercial by several major Yugoslav record labels.[1] After their performance at theSubotica Youth Festival, they got a contract offer fromLjubljana-basedZKP RTLJ.[1] In 1978, the band released their eponymous debut album for the label.[1] The material on the album was authored by Ilijin, Ćućuz and Dukić and recorded in only 36 hours.[1] The album featuredsymphonic rock-oriented sound with elements ofjazz.[1] The song "Lena" featured S Vremena Na Vreme memberAsim Sarvan on vocals, and the song "Minijatura" ("Miniature") was composed as a tribute to the bandJethro Tull.[1] The band promoted the album with a free concert held at Belgrade'sKalemegdan.[1] At the beginning of 1979, after another quadraphonic sound concert organized with S Vremena Na Vreme, Tako went on hiatus because Ilijin gotarthritis.[1] Dukić used this time to form his own band.[1]
Six months later, the band continued their activity.[1] Their second album,U vreći za spavanje (In a Sleeping Bag), was released in September 1980 through Belgrade-basedPGP-RTB.[1] The album was produced by band members themselves, with every song on the album being produced by the member who wrote it.[1] The band went on a promotional tour, however, due to the departure of Slobodan Felekatović, who had to leave the band because of his mandatory army stint, and due to therising popularity of Yugoslav new wave bands, Tako decided to end their activity.[1][3] They held their farewell concert at theBelgrade Faculty of Philosophy in March 1981.[1]
After the disbandment, Dukić became astudio musician.[1] In 2010, under the name D Mirro, he rerecorded nine Tako songs, releasing them on the albumTako Reloaded.[1]
Ilijin dedicated himself to music education andethnology.[1] In 1983, he released the solo albumZabranjeno prisluškivanje (No Eavesdropping) on which he sang and played all the instruments except drums, which were played by Vladimir "Furda" Furduj, a formerElipse andKorni Grupa member.[1] Several of the album songs featuredSremska Mitrovica Youth Center female choir.[1] In the late 1980s, Ilijin produced the albumsNo. 1 byMladen Vojičić Tifa andUspavanka za Radmilu T. by Bijeli Bagremi.[4] In 1989, he moved toNew York, where he performed with several bands and worked as anaccompanist in aballet school inHarlem.[1] During the following decades, he composed music for theatre and film.[1] He wrote music for the feature filmsThe Class: From Actor to Icon (2008) by Paula Panzarella,Pussyfoot (2008) by Dušan Sekulović andTruth Be Told (2012) by Gregorio Smith.[1] After his return to Serbia, he released some of his compositions for film and theatre on the 2020 albumFlying in the Dream.[1]
After Tako disbanded, Ćućuz worked as a sound engineer forhard rock bandsRiblja Čorba,Divlje Jagode andKerber.[3] He died on 20 October 2022.[1]
Slobodan Felekatović performed with Petty Lucy Band.[1] He died in 2018.[1]
In 1993,German record label Kalemegdan Disk reissued both Tako albums onvinyl.[1] Both albums featured new luxurious covers designed byHungarian painterIstván Fujkin.[1]Tako reissue featured "Put na jug" ("Journey to the South") as bonus track, andU vreći za spavanje reissue featured "Izgubljeno ništa" ("Lost Nothing") and "Horde mira" ("Hordes of Peace") as bonus. All of these tracks were recorded during the 1975–1981 period, but were previously unreleased.[1] In 1996, the same record label reissued Ilijin's solo albumZabranjeno prisluškivanje.[1] In 1998,Brazilian record label Rocksymphony reissued bothTako andU vreći za spavanje oncompact disc, and in 2002,Italian record label Mellow Records reissuedZabranjeno prisluškivanje.[1]
In 2014, Serbianalternative rock bandBjesovi covered Tako song "Probudi se" ("Wake Up") on theircover albumSvetla svetlosti (Lights of Light).[1]
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